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Freestyle for Funds 07 - Snowpark 23rd September, Turoa 13th October.
Raising money and awareness for Breast Cancer.
~ Nick Hyne - Ride Team Rider
This board is next level. The carbon strips beneath the bindings give it mad pop! and if Load the tail of this bad boy up you gon' know about it! Slightly shorter nose and tail than the DH means it has a bit more effective edge..which is dope for in the park..less swing weight! The Slimewall sidewalls are, in my opinion a lot better than regular sidewalls as they are smoother on rails and are damper on bumps. Dope graphics with glossy white top sheet means this sucker is ideal for a bangin' sticker job (very important) and the base is super hard and fast. The Cleave edge combined with the Slimewalls means that cracked edges are damn near a thing of the past. Well worth the extra bucks.
“revolutionary ski design inspired by surf-board rocker”
~ Simon Knight, Senior Sales Rep, K2 Skis (New Zealand)
“Rocker” is the major new story from K2 ski design technology. It is revolutionary and changes the way ski engineers are building skis at K2 this year. According to K2 Skis senior sales rep, Simon Knight, “the revolutionary rocker design is inspired by surf-board rocker which eliminates the ski camber and de-camber allowing much wider (130mm waist) skis that simply lift up and “plane”, or float across the snow surface. This is designed to provide unprecedented lift and float in powder snow and much more easily controlled stability of wide skis at any speed in any type of three-dimensional snow, either riding switch or regular”.
“We are lucky here in New Zealand”, continues Simon, “that all the K2 products in NZ this winter are “year ahead” 2008 models available in NZ first, 6-months before the northern hemisphere winter season. This means we are getting the worlds’ leading-edge ski design technology fat the front end”.
This revolutionary “rocker” design can be seen on three new models.
The PONTOON, inspired by K2 TEAM RIDER Shane McConkey, the mad scientist, and developed by K2 engineers as the ultimate powder tool. With its massive dimensions (160/130/120mm), surf-inspired rocker and powder specific side-cut that tapers toward the tail, this ski is built to plane. Although the PONTOON is the perfect powder tool, it also incorporates a portion of standard side-cut underfoot where you need it most. This provides control and stability while navigating your way back to the trailhead, heli, lift, or vehicle of choice for accessing your private powder stash. $1,199. 179cm or 189cm. View at www.K2skis.co.nz
The HELL-BENT is a new, massive addition to the Factory Team Line that takes the attributes of “rocker design” and applies it to a true backcountry twin-tip. The Factory Team tested this rockered ski over the past two seasons and fine-tuned it into a tool that makes it as easy to land switch as landing forward. The hellish bend in the tip and tail combined with a 122mm waist width provides maximum float. The minimal side-cut keeps the ski from deflecting in the chopped up or variable snow, but still allows versatility when making laps back to the lift, heli or sled. 150/122/141mm. 179cm or 189cm. $1,199.
The SETH. A true all-conditions ski designed by Seth Morrison as a single tool to attack anything Mother Nature throws at you. The 98mm waist width, mini rocker, and progressive side-cut make it a force to be reckoned within the powder snow, while the generous side-cut in the tip and all-mountain flex make it ideal for the groomers. Add on a twin-tip and you have the most versatile ski in the FACTORY SERIES. 130/98/118mm. 169cm, 179cm or 189cm. $1,199.
~ By Peter Lewis Ride team manager
Young up and comer Joram Makuru has been camped out in USA since the start of this year training and competing. All the extra time on snow and contest experience paid off as Joram who ended up winning the overall slopestyle section for his age group in the USASA Southlake Tahoe series!
Nick Hyne kicked off his Northern Hemisphere season in Colorado and Utah (USA), where he got some "pretty sweet footage" form Rail Gardens and a kicker session up Grizzly Gulch. It was then on to Garz, Austria for his first World Cup Big Air event. Nick placed fourth and won 930 Euros, it was also live on TV. "It was crazy! I came fourth and the crowd was swarming wanting photographs and signatures." Nick unfortunately left Europe with a shoulder injury but managed to still make it both the Nippon Open and the US Open to compete in slopestyle to end his trip. Watch out for Nick Hyne-sight column in the next NZSB magazine.
Roland Morley-Brown spent most of his trip filming for the new Manual DVD which is out soon, locations included Snowmass and Buttermilk in Colorado and Utah. You can check out the teaser on You-Tube, nzsnowboard.com and manualmagazine.com.
Femke had some pretty exciting news about competing in the Roxy Chicken Jam...she qualified in top 5 which gained her entry to compete against all the other invited female pros at the main event. Femke also won a couple of slopestyle, rail jam events through out the season held at Northstar and Boreal in Tahoe, USA.
Abby Lockhart had a really productive trip to Japan earlier this year to get photo's the next issues of NZSB, Manual and Australian/NZ Snowboarder so keep an eye on them for her shots. Abby also made it down to the Nippon Open where she placed 13 th in the slope style! a sweet result and the best out of the Kiwi's there.
Joe Mackenzie has been bases in Park City (Utah), competing and shooting photos. Joe also placed 2 nd (open men) at the King of the Wasatch rail comp.
Matto Smith has been spending his Northern Hemisphere seasons in Colorado for thre past few seasons and is now being hooked up by Ride Snowboards over there that recognized his talent, congratulations bro. I even heard they used a photo of Matto for a Ride promo poster? Matto also visited Denver city and got good shots on the Red Rocks rail so we hope to seem some of that action in the Manual DVD.
If you’re a surfer winter generally sucks in New Zealand, that’s why it’s always a good idea to get out of the country and go somewhere warm for a couple of months. In June I jumped on Garuda flight GA712 to Denpasar Bali for a 2-month surf trip throughout Indonesia.
I stayed a couple of days in Kuta which, unless you enjoy partying with drunk Aussies and getting heckled by shop keepers as you walk down the street, is probably a good place to avoid and then I flew up to Sumatra to jump on a boat and head out in to the Mentawai island chain with a bunch of mates.
The boat trip was a lot of fun, although being sick for the first half and getting average waves was a bit of a let down. If we were anywhere else in the world the waves we had would’ve been considered pumping, but the Mentawais is different, anything less than perfection is a disappointment.
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After skiing on a powder day at one of the many ski resorts in the Chamonix Valley here in France, or off the Aiguille Du Midi Telepherique (cable car) down one of the many variations of the Vallee Blanche or the steep Rond Glacier or equally impressive Cosmiques Couloir, Chamonix starts to come into its own through its shear variety of quality ski tours, steep terrain and ski mountaineering lines. All of which will hold powder for a long time after the resorts are bumped out.
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K2 Snowboarding proudly sponsored the first annual "Free-Styling for Funds" event held at Snow Park on the 25 th of September and would like to congratulate the raffle winner Jo Campbell of Christchurch for taking out First Prize.
Jo received a K2 Mix snowboard and K2 jacket and pants for her $5 dollar raffle ticket where all proceeds were donated to The New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation.
The event was a huge success and more than achieved its goal of raising awareness of breast cancer amongst a younger crowd.
The demands for extra travel, extra versatility at an extra good price, has spawned a new breed of bike for K2. The replacement for the much loved Razorback is the Apache. Boasting 4 inches of plush travel front and rear and weighing in at 25lbs, it is the next level in all mountain/endurance race equipment.
Specced with the following components; Manitou S-type rear shock /Manitou R7 forks /Sram drivetrain
Available December 2005
Paul Fowler – winner of K2 competition, with K2 Representative Simon Knight, receives his new K2 Skis.s
K2 Sports would like to congratulate our New Zealand distributor Sportive for the amazing work they do.
Just back from the annual winter Snow Sports Trade Show, Sportive (representing K2 Sports brands including K2 Skis, K2 Snowboards, Ride Snowboards) received the prestigious Wholesaler of the Year award as voted by New Zealand retailers.
Equally exciting, for the second year in a row - Simon Knight of K2 Ski and Snowboard (pictured left) won "Sales Rep of the Year." Of only 4 nominees in the category, K2 had 2 spaces locked up - John Saunders, Sportive's Ride sales rep was also nominated.
Congratulations K2 New Zealand!!!